Microsoft says it hasn't "pulled any games from PlayStation" despite Redfall director's claim of abandoned PS5 plans

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Xbox issues a non-statement on the Redfall PS5 discussion

Redfall key art
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Microsoft says it "hasn't pulled any games from PlayStation," shortly after Arkane's Harvey Smith revealed that a Redfall PS5 version was in development before Xbox purchased the studio and canceled it.

In case you missed it, Smith said recently that Redfall was originally in development for PS5 alongside Xbox Series X/S and PC, but that the PlayStation version was canceled as Microsoft was keen on "focusing on Xbox, PC, and the Game Pass."

Now, in an impressively vague non-statement shared to GameSpot, Microsoft has responded to Smith's words without directly refuting them.

The spokesperson goes on to point out that Minecraft, which Xbox owns, has expanded to other platforms and that "all of the games that were available on PlayStation when we acquired ZeniMax in March 2021 are still available on PlayStation, and we have continued to do content updates on PlayStation and PC."

That's true, but the statement skirts around the topic of ditching plans for a PlayStation release before the game's launch, which seems to be what happened with Redfall. Of course, Xbox has been clear from the beginning that its Bethesda buyout was "about delivering great exclusive games on platforms where Game Pass exists," so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that one of its first orders of business was to take Redfall from PS5. After all, there was once a time when Starfield might've launched on PS5, but that's very much not the case anymore.

"We have always said that future decisions on whether to distribute ZeniMax games for other consoles will be made on a case-by-case basis," the spokesperson added.

Check out our in-depth hands-on preview to learn how Redfall puts Arkane storytelling and design in Far Cry's open world.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.